Devon County Council Apprentices 'escape' to the country
Devon County Council's latest apprentices had a breath of fresh air when they took part in a voluntary exercise on Dartmoor recently at Shapely Commons near Moretonhampstead.
Not confined to their offices for the day, twenty Devon County Council apprentices were ‘let loose’ on a 3,000 year old Bronze Age settlement. The aim was to clear an area of gorse and bracken for use by the general public and as an added bonus reveal 6 'hut circles' of significant archaeological interest.
The day began with an uphill climb from the car park to the hut circles, which were barely visible due to the overgrown bracken. During a brief archaeology lesson, Andy Crabb of the Dartmoor National Park Authority gave a short history lesson about the settlements including the possible purpose of the huts and what they might have looked like 3,000 years ago.
Andy went onto explain that bracken not only limits access and visibility of these historic rock formations but the roots of these plants can effect the soil underneath which is used in dating how old these settlements really are.
A quick tool demonstration followed about how to use the appropriately named ‘slasher’ tool. The area that needed clearing was marked out and to add some competition to the day, it was boys versus girls!
Although the boys may have cleared their area faster, it seemed as though the girls did a more thorough job. By the closing stages of the morning the apprentices had exceeded the days work.
After lunch the apprentices moved on to the next appropriately named tool – ‘loppers’, which help to clear any gorse that had grown around the same area.
Mark Andrews, Planning, Transport and Environment apprentice said; "The day was very fulfilling and fun too, it was good to see all the apprentices get their hands dirty and achieve something great. Growing up near Dartmoor has helped me appreciate it’s value to the county and tourists alike and now it can be enjoyed that extra bit more thanks to the apprenticeship volunteering scheme."
Tom Satterly, Economy and Enterprise Apprentice said, “Everyone worked really hard and I am pretty sure we all ached the next day! It was a very productive and rewarding days work.”
Tracey Holding, the Business Admin and Customer Service apprenticeship co-ordinator at Devon County Council said “It’s a good chance for the apprentices to give something back to Devon while using the skills they have been developing in their job roles.”
"On behalf of the Devon County Council Apprentices we would like to thank Dartmoor Preservation Association and its staff and volunteers for all their help and letting us join in for the day."
Follow them or tweet @DCCapprentices, Facebook - www.facebook.com/dccapprentices or email pdqmail@devon.gov.uk the Devon County Council Apprentices with all your questions and messages.
